HIPPY aristocrat Lord Tim Hudson has put his field of dreams up for sale.

The great English eccentric, who coined the term "flower power" in the Sixties, has finally decided to sell what was once one of the most beautiful cricket grounds in England but latterly dubbed a "grot spot" by the Council for the Protection Rural England.

Birtles Bowl, a ten-acre site in the village of Birtles near Henbury, was the place to be in the Eighties as the flamboyant Hudson took on the cream of world cricket with his private team, the Hudson Hollywood Eleven.

The legendary Ian Botham played against Geoff Boycott at Birtles and the ground, with its unique psychedelic pavilion, also welcomed the likes of Sir Viv Richards, Gary Sobers and Imran Khan.

And while the celebrities played so did the bands, including New Order, Echo and the Bunnymen and Teardrop Explodes.

Prestbury estate agents Gascoigne Halman are accepting offers for the land but there is currently no guide price.

Former multi-millionaire Lord Tim, 64, speaking from his home in Palm Springs, said: "Yes, the pleasure field is up for sale.

"It was a great place to be in the Eighties, with the matches and the music, and I won't forget the good times we had there."

And in his inimitable "tell it as it is" style he added: "I read in The Times today that Macclesfield is the most boring town in the world, and I agree.

"I was born there and it is boring. You haven't even got a cinema. I live in Palm Springs and we have 24 cinemas here and it's smaller than Macclesfield. No, I'm only joking with you.

"Listen, I want this story to go on the front page with a big headline saying pleasure field up for sale."

And then he demanded: "I'm not talking anymore until your editor tells me this is going on the front page."

Earlier he had told The Times about his beloved Birtles: "It's the most beautiful cricket ground in the world. Cricket was the most incredible trip I ever had. It was a dream come true."

"Those lucky enough to play at the ground, usually wearing Panama hats, striped blazers and old school ties, can remember sipping margaritas while watching the sun sink down behind the trees over the lake."

Hudson forked out £70,000 in 1986 to officially become Lord of Birtles Manor but in 1990 he sold the eighteenth-century Birtles Old Hall, which overlooked the ground, and moved back to America.

He became famous as a DJ in the USA during the Sixties. He toured the States with The Beatles and claims to have discovered the Moody Blues and introduced the Rolling Stones to America.

He even made it to the silver screen, starring as the voice of Tom in the Disney film The Aristocats and as the eagle in the Jungle Book.

He also managed Botham, but they fell out after he was quoted in a newspaper as saying the cricketer smoked "dope".

Lord Tim returned to Macclesfield from Palm Springs in the late 1990s, with his American heiress wife Maxi and daughter River, in a bid to restore the vandalised Birtles Bowl to its former glory.

But he emigrated again to America after bitter planning wrangles with neighbours and Macclesfield Borough Council and there he claims he will stay.